The Heart
by MarissaTodd
Summary: Flash is the Heart of the League. This is the story of what the Heart cares about most, and how the Fastest Man Alive handles a newly found responsibility. NO SLASH. Might be some later on. Rated T to be safe.
1. Prologue

Just so you know beforehand, this is _majorly_ AU. Set two or three months after the Thanagarians tried to take over.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, or anything else relating to DC Comics, much as I wish otherwise.**

Wally grinned as he unlocked his front door to his house. Finally, finally, _finally_ after studying every night, experimenting with whatever chemicals he could get his hands on, and all around loving science, he officially became a forensic scientist at the same place his uncle worked. What made the deal sweeter was that he was able to get through college and get a job by a month before he turned 20.

Also, League business was at an all-time low. Most villains seemed to want to wait and recuperate some more after the Thanagarian incident before causing trouble. The numerous new recruits could handle the few who didn't need that much rest.

So, yeah, his life was pretty spectacular at the moment.

He walked through his apartment until he came to a small table with an answering on top of it. He hit a button to start playing the single message.

"_Mister West, this is Nurse Alice Quandary at Central City General Hospital. There is urgent business I am not at liberty to discuss over the phone with you partially regarding one Miss Mia Greenstone. If you could please come to Dr. Arnold Brown's office on the third floor in a __**flash**__, it would be much appreciated. Have a nice day."_

At the beginning of the message, Wally frowned. Mia was a girl he dated in college, but he hadn't seen her in over two and a half years. What could she have to do with anything regarding him now?

It was the emphasis on the word 'flash' that really worried him. Somehow, Mia, the nurse who called him, and possibly the doctor had somehow figured out his secret identity. He considered calling the Watchtower for help, but tossed the idea aside quickly. Heroes needed to handle their own problems. So, he ran to the hospital to see what was going on.

-LINE BREAK-

He decided to go in as Wally West. It would cause less commotion among the patients and visitors. After asking for directions from a few different people, he found himself knocking on a light wooden door with a plague with 'Dr. A. Brown' in the middle of it.

A middle-aged woman with blue eyes red hair pulled back into a bun opened the door. She blinked once before saying with a regretful smile, "Come in, Mr. West. There are some… rather difficult things we need to inform you of." She stood aside for him as he walked through the door.

The office was nice and spacious with a cherry wood desk beside the wall and another in the center. An African-American man sat at the latter. He smiled as he motioned for the speedster to sit in a vacant chair across from him. Wally sat as the woman went to sit beside the man.

A minute passed before the man (whose nametag identified him as the doctor who owned the office) spoke. "Mr. West…"

"Wally," the redheaded male said, "Please call me Wally." He smiled tightly.

"Very well, Wally," the doctor started again, "Exactly two years ago today, at 3:24 in the afternoon, a young woman by the name of Mia Greenstone gave birth to a boy at this hospital." Wally paled, but nodded. "The boy obviously different than others; He began to increase in age immediately after being born," Doctor Brown continued as Wally tightened his grip on the armrest of his chair, "Seeing this, Miss Greenstone went into a panic. She refused to hold, look at, or even _name _the boy. She left soon after without the baby."

At this point, the young woman, who was apparently Nurse Quandary, spoke, "We hid the boy. We tried to figure out what was causing him to age at such a rate. We made sure he kept up with his education by giving him numerous books on subjects he would be learning at a public school. This was how we discovered his eidetic, or photographic, memory."

"After many tests we found that his metabolism was much more active than the average human's," the doctor began again, "So active, in fact, that it became apparent that the child would die of old age around his fourth birthday. Naturally, we took a blood test and found out you were the father, among other things." The man then raised his hand as the other was about to speak. "Don't worry. We have no intentions of telling your secret." The nurse nodded at this.

With that. The two medical professionals stood up. Wally did the same, and was led to a door on one wall of the office that looked to be originally created for the nurse to have. Inside was bare except for a large pile of books at a twin bed on which a young boy sat reading, too engrossed in his book to notice the door opening or the new arrivals to the room. Upon closer inspection, the book was full of pictures of pastures, buildings, anything as long as it was outdoors.

The nurse gave a wry smile and whispered, "Physically, he's twelve now. He still doesn't have a name, though."

_What!_ Wally thought with some anger. _Why wouldn't they have given him a name already?!_

The nurse continued, "We were wondering if you wanted to take him home."

Wally looked at the other two adults in the room. Then, he looked towards the boy. He had obviously heard the nurse and was now looking towards the adults, turning his head of fluffy brown hair (like Mia's, Wally noted) to the side to get a better look. His eyes eventually rested on Wally.

That was all the older speedster needed. Looking into those big, innocent green eyes, the eyes he saw it the mirror as a young child, had been all he needed his decision. He walked to the bed, resting a hand on the youth's - _his son's_ - shoulder. His next words ended up causing everyone in the room to smile.

"Nice meeting you, Bartholomew Allen West. My name's Wallace, but call me Wally. Well, I'm your dad. Kinda hard to believe, right? Anyway, we should be heading home."

**TBA…**

WALLY'S BART'S DAD! YES!

Good? Bad? Horrible? Fantastic? Please review. Suggestions are welcome, but I might not use them. It depends on what they are.

I plan to have the second chapter out soon.


	2. The First Beat

Hi, again. I was able to update sooner than I really expected. School starts next week, but I'll try to update again soon.

Bart is a _really _hard character for me to write sometimes. His fast thoughts and happy, innocent nature make him a really complicated character for me. I don't know why either. That, in itself, is frustrating.

**Disclaimer: If I owned DC Comics, I would be a happier woman. Sadly, though, I do not.**

Bartholomew's POV

The boy (_Bartholomew! Gottaremembermyname'sBartholomewnow!)_ held on tightly to his dad's _(DaddaddadIhaveaDAD!_) hand as they walked out of the hospital's door entryway. He then was pulled into an ally by the older speedster. The youth turned him face upwards questionably.

"Listen, son," began Wally, "I need you to close your eyes. You'll get dust, dirt, and all sorts of things in them if you don't." When Bartholomew's face didn't change, he tried again. "How will you run like that?!"

Bartholomew's POV

Bartholomew became excited. _Run?_ _I've never done that before_.He wasn't ever allowed to leave his room before today, and now he got to run? Something he could only ever read about? _This is the best day ever!_ He closed his eyes and gripped Wally's tighter. Then, the most incredible thing happened. His legs were moving and the wind was rapidly hitting his face. He smiled while keeping his mouth closed. He didn't want those small weird-looking flying creatures (_BUGS!_) to get in it.

Wally's POV

While running to his place, Wally kept an eye on his new son. To a mind that went as fast as his, Bartholomew's rapid aging was all too apparent at first glance, but now, going at a high speed, it seemed normal. That lit a spark of an idea. They stopped when they got to his apartment.

Inside, Wally sat on the couch while Bartholomew ran around. Multiple sayings such as "Dad, what's this," "Dad, did you know that I read a book about that," and "OMYGOSH! Dad, lookatwhatIfound. This is so cool!" were thrown his way.

There seemed to be a pattern. Bartholomew would age quickly only if he was standing still. _It's like the more he runs, the less energy he has to age. Of course!_ Wally jumped up and ran to his room. He went to his closet and pulled out an old box. He got out a pair of goggles and rushed back to the living room.

Bartholomew's POV

Bartholomew looked up just as his dad (_DaddI'llnevereverevereverevergettiredofthatword!_) came back in the room. He had a red thing (_GOGGLES! That's what those are._) "Here,' the older speedster said.

"Why do I need those? Why do you want me to wear them? I mean I know _what _they do and all. Gogglesareforprotectingtheeyesfromglaredustwaterandstuff. I read it in a book. I just don't know why _I_ would need them," Bartholomew said, then his eyes widened. "We're going running? Again? So soon? That's why I need them, right? To protect my eyes?" he asked. His father laughed and nodded.

He smiled as they took off. The young speedster saw hundreds of things he had only read about plus more. Still, he didn't stop unless his dad did. This was that father-son thing (Bonding!) books always described; Bartholomew was determined not to mess it up somehow. He kept running even after he became tired and his legs started hurting. He ran until he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. The moment he had to shut them, he felt strong arms lift him up.

-LINE BREAK-

The bright light of the morning hurt Bartholomew's eyes when he tried to open them. _This room is reallyreally bright, _he thought sleepily. _Light's not good for eyes, though. That'swhatthatbooksaid. I'll need to be careful when I wake up every day._

He got up and ran to the kitchen he had seen the day before while exploring his new home. His dad was sitting at the table. On said table, there was _a lot _of food. Bartholomew grinned and rushed to a chair. The speedster had stopped while running yesterday to get some red meaty things with bread (_Hotdogs! Iactuallygottoeetrealhotdogs!_) They didn't eat for very long, but Bartholomew was just glad he got to eat something _so good. _The hospitals food wasn't very tasty. Continuing this line of thought, he started eating.

Wally's POV

Wally paused in his own eating to glance at his son and smiled. His plan had worked! Bartholomew gave no sign of aging faster than the average person while sitting at the table. _I didn't fail. He won't die. He won't._

He adult let out a deep sigh and stood up, walking over to the sink with some dirty dishes that were on the table. For the first time since meeting his son, he considered money issues. _The food budget will need to increase. At least be doubled what it is now. I'll have to buy Bartholomew clothes, too. He'll need his own toothbrush, dresser, toys… Didn't Nurse Quandary say he read a lot? I wonder what books he likes. I'll have to ask. I should see what foods he likes, too. I wonder what we should have for lunch today. It should be something special. It'll be our first lunch together after all. I wonder if he would like quesadillas. What kind? Cheese? Chicken? Veggie? Beef? Isheavegetarian? No, wait, he ate those hotdogs yesterday, so I guess he does eat meat. How much meat is actually _in_ a hotdog?_

Wally shook his head. This was no time to get distracted. He turned his head back to the table to check on his son. Bartholomew finished all the food that was on the table and was looking bored. Wally smiled. _Ah, subjective time. The worst part about being a speedster. _That thought gave him an idea.

"Stay here, son," Wally ordered as he rushed to get his wallet. He then ran to the store, being careful so he wasn't seen. Walking down several aisles, he grabbed a plain white t-shirt, underwear, and blue shorts that looked around Bartholomew's size along with a toothbrush. He waited in lines at the cash registers for two minutes before paying for the items. He ran home after leaving the store.

-LINE BREAK-

Bartholomew's POV

Bartholomew was bored when he heard his dad come in. He had found the T.V. and had figured out how to work the remote control. The problem was that every program was so _slow._ He had only read about televisions before, but he had always assumed one would be as fast as the person watching it wanted. He ran to the door when he heard his name called.

"Get ready," Wally said, "We should get going."

"Going where?" Bartholomew asked, taking a bag from his dad and pulling a shirt out of it to examine.

His dad knelt down to look him in the eyes before saying in a voice that barely concealed his excitement and nervousness, "We're going to see your grandma and grandpa. You're aunt and uncle, too."

All boredom forgotten, Bartholomew raced down the hall to change and brush his teeth and hair. His heart was beating, and a huge smile was on his face.

**TBA…**

So, a lot of POV changing this time; I tried to make Bart and Wally seem a bit alike, but I don't know how successful I was.

If you're confused about when Bart's thoughts named something, it's because he read about it before and can finally put a word to different things he sees for the first time in real life.

Also, there is a reason he's being called Bartholomew right now.

Suggestions are always welcome. Please review.


	3. Meeting the Grandparents

This is out a bit later than I would've liked. Sorry about that. School can be a killer! It's only the first week, and I already have two papers to do.

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I didn't own anything at all related to DC comics, and I doubt that's going to change any time soon.**

There was rapid pounding on the front door of a three bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood. Wally, the cause of the disturbance, stood beside an impatient and anxious Bartholomew. The door opened to reveal a red-headed woman with green eyes who looked to be in her mid-thirties. "Wally? Why are you here?" the woman asked.

Wally gave a shaky smile, nervous now that this was _actually_ happening, and said, "Hi, Aunt Iris. There's someone you need to meet. Better get Uncle Barry, too. This is kinda, really, extremely important."

-LINE BREAK-

Wally sat at the kitchen table with his aunt and uncle. Bartholomew was in the living room with their children, Don and Dawn. Wally had just finished explaining about his son's existence and was now sweating. _What now? Do they like him? Wait; that doesn't make sense. Theydon'tevenknowhimyet._

A throat cleared itself. "Well, that certainly is… surprising," said Barry.

"Tell me about it," Wally said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't know how something like this could happen. It's way too bazar."

A smirk appeared on Barry's face. "Well, you see, when two people love each other very much, or don't like each other at all, and sometimes don't even _know_ each other…" the older man started before being smacked over his head by his wife.

Iris glared and said, "May I point out that our nephew's _two year old son_ is in the other room? He doesn't need to accidentally overhear anything about _that._" She then smiled softly, "What's his name?"

At this Wally became even more anxious than he was before. _How will they take this? Will they yell at me? No! No! No! Of course they won't. What reason would they have to? _"Bartholomew Allen West," he finally said.

Barry's throat instantly started to grow a lump. "You… you named him after me?" he asked.

"Well, yeah; I mean, it's usual for people to name their kids after their parents, isn't it?" Wally asked, shrugging and eyes downcast. Because that's how his mind saw them. They gave all the warmth, protection, and acceptance that his real parents never did. Wally soon found a quietly crying speedster in his arms, and Iris had tears in her eyes. After a few seconds, Barry returned to his seat as his newly proclaimed son continued, "Anyway, I thought you said our meta-gene couldn't be inherited."

Iris sighed. "We thought it couldn't be. Don and Dawn haven't shown any signs to say otherwise. I don't know why Barry couldn't pass the gene on and you could. It might be because you received your powers at such a young age. It could be that you did the experiment slightly different. It could that the speed force is picky about who possesses on super speed. It could be something else entirely. There's endless possibilities here," she said, "but enough about that. What are you going to do? How are you going to enroll Bartholomew in school? From the way I hear it, he doesn't have an identity to use, other than the name you gave him.

Wally sighed and said, "I was actually thinking of just calling Bats. Bartholomew's my son. There is no way I'm letting him miss out on an education. Now, I told someone he was going to meet his grandparents today." Wally began walking to the living room and overheard the twins arguing.

-LINE BREAK-

Bartholomew's POV

Bartholomew sat on a red cushiony thing (_Couch!_) staring at two red-headed kids that looked a few years younger than him. (_That doesn't say much. I don't think I look my age. I neverread about anybodylikeme before._

One of them, a boy with short hair and deep blue eyes, blinked at him owlishly for what seemed like forever to Bartholomew before saying, "My name's Don, and this is Dawn. We're twins." He gestured to the girl, who had her hair cut at her shoulders, hiding partially behind him. She gave a small smile that touched her light blue eyes.

"My name's Bartholomew," replied the taller child. Pride filled him at saying his new name.

"Bartholomew? That's our daddy's name, too," said Dawn.

"But he goes by Barry," continued Don.

"You need a name to go by, too."

"Bartholomew's too long."

"How about Mew? I like that name."

"No! Mew's stupid. He's not even a cool Pokémon. Thol?"

"Mew's a great Pokémon! And Thol sounds dumb."

"Nu-_uh_! It sounds like Thor!"

"Well, we're calling him Mew!"

"Thol!"

"Mew!"

"THOL!"

"MEW!"

"Bart! Come in here! There're people I want you to meet," called a very familiar voice from what Bartholomew guessed was the kitchen. The young speedster turned to see his dad smiling with excitement.

_Wait… _"Bart? That's my name now? Imeannotmyrealname. My real name's Bartholomew, but…" the newly dubbed Bart was cut off by laughter from his father. Behind him, the two others were grumbling about not getting to choose the fake name. (_Nickname!_)

-LINE BREAK-

Bart stood in the kitchen at the two adults. One was the woman who had opened the front door, while the other was a blonde man with electric blue eyes. They were both looking at him with looks of excitement. The woman looked close to tears. Bart assumed they were happy tears. He didn't remember doing anything bad enough to make someone cry, at least.

"Son, I would like you to meet your Grandpa Barry," he gestured to the man then the woman, "and your Grandma Iris."

-LINE BREAK-

Wally's POV

After a dinner of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, beans, pork chops, and banana splits with the Allens, Wally decided it was time for him and Bart to head home. Everyone said they're goodbyes, Bart getting his hair ruffled by Barry, hugged by Dawn, patted on the shoulder by Don, and then hugged and kissed by Iris, and ran to Wally's (_Our. It's ours now._) apartment.

After Bart went to bed, Wally got into his car and drove to a grocery store four blocks up the road. He had noticed earlier that the younger speedster tended to eat more than him, so he bought three times as much as he normally would. He got home about an hour after he left.

_I should call Bats soon. He needs to know about Bart. I really hope he can help. What am I thinking? Of course he can; he's _the_ Batman. I bet he's up now. I should just get it over with. Would that be rude?_

The speedster peeked into his son's room and gazed at said son's peaceful, sleeping face. All thoughts of being courteous towards his dark colleague vanished. This was too important to put off.

Twenty seconds later, Wally was dialing the Batcave's number.

**TBC…**

**Ha, ha, ha! Wally so trolled the twins.**

**So, how was it? Do you think this story is moving too fast? Too slow? You know, suggestions are always welcome. Please review!**


	4. Bats Everywhere

This chapter took more effort to write than I'd like to admit. Bruce is a surprisingly difficult character for me. Hopefully, that won't always be the case.

Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I'd have A LOT more money if I owned anything in this story besides the plot, but I don't.**

"_You have a son."_

"Yes."

"_You have procreated."_

"Yes."

"_You have passed on your genes."_

"Yes, B; I have. Do you see why I need your help here?"

"_Does he act like you?"_

"Yeah, but more hyper."

Wally could just see Bruce pinching the bridge of his nose on the other end of the line.

"_We can't alter the way he acts now. I suppose you need his necessary documentation."_

"Yes."

"_Fine. We'll be over tomorrow."_

"Wait a minute! You're coming here? Bruce? B? Bats?"

The speedster hung up the phone with a huff when there was no answer.

-LINE BREAK-

Wally rushed to the front door as soon as he heard the doorbell the next morning. He had spent the last half hour cleaning the apartment, teaching Bart _how_ to clean his room, and cleaning the apartment again. Sure, Bruce had known him since he was Kid Flash, best friend to the first Robin, but nobody from the JL had ever come over before, and they certainly never met Bart.

Outside stood Bruce Wayne and his new ward, Tim Drake, wearing dress shirts, nice jeans, and sunglasses. Wally gave them each a smile and let them in.

"Hey," he said, "Tim, my son's room is just down the hall and to the left." The boy nodded and left. The speedster turned to look at the billionaire. "Why bring the new bird?" he asked once they reached the living room, sitting on the couch.

"Tim wanted to meet Bartholomew," said the older man as he, too, sat on the couch, but with a less relaxed posture.

"Bart," Wally corrected.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Bart. It's a nickname, like Barry, but Barry's taken and he doesn't look like a Barry, ya know?" Wally explained.

Bruce nodded and handed Wally a manila envelope. "Inside, there is a birth certificate among any other documents that might be needed," he said.

The red head looked over the envelope's contents. "Um… B? This says he's two, and, well, he _is, _but he doesn't look it," he said.

Bruce sighed and said, "With everything that's been happening, civilians have become used to… strangeness. The paperwork for him to begin attending school is being filed. He'll have to take an assessment exam first, though."

"Already?" Wally exclaim incredulously, "How did you get that going so fast? Wait. Stupid question. Don't answer that."

-LINE BREAL-

Bart's POV

"Hello," sounded a voice from behind the young speedster. Looking to the door he saw a boy raven colored hair.

"Hey," he responded smiling. In an instant he was across the room and dragging the boy further inside. "Hi! I'm Bart. My real name's Bartholomew, but just call me Bart. Are you the reason Dad had me clean my room? He showed me how to use a vacuum cleaner. Avacuumcleanerisamachinethatusessuction tocollectdustandsmallparticlesfromfloorsandothersurfaces. I read it in a book."

The boy knit eyebrows in confusion before smiling a small smile and saying, "Well, um, my name's Timothy, but I go by Tim. I'm not, I didn't, I don't _think _I was the reason you had to clean. If I was, then, um, sorry."

Bart shook his head. "Idon'tmind. So, why are you here?"

The boy (_Tim! Call him Tim!_) shrugged and answered, "Your dad needed stuff from mine, so we came over. So, um, your Flash's son?"

Bart's eyes went wide. "Yeah!" he said, "But no one's supposed to know that. Dad said. Are you someone's son, too? Stupid question. Everyoneisspmebody'skid. So, what about you?"

Tim smirked and said in a smug voice "I'm _Batman's_ son."

Bart blinked. "Batman? I've read about him. Does that mean your Robin? That'ssocool! Do you have adventures every night and stuff?" he asked.

"Not every night, but…" Tim then went on to tell the other boy about his night life in Gotham City.

-LINE BREAK-

Wally's POV

"Are you planning on letting him take on your old mantle?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know," Wally replied, sighing, "I don't think I'm ready to have a partner. I've only been the Flash since Uncle Barry decided he needed more time for his kids."

"That was when you were fourteen," the older man pointed out, "Most would consider five years enough experience."

"Yeah, well," Wally ran a hand through his hair, looking slightly defeated. "I might start training him in a month or two. That's, like, _eternity_ for a speedster. It shouldn't take long in objective time for Bart to get the hang of crime fighting," he decided.

Bruce nodded. Sometimes (_Well, a lot of the time._), Wally wished he knew what his colleague was thinking. The man had always been the tall, dark, and scary type. How he managed to raise someone bright and happy like Dick, Wally would never know.

Of course, Bruce had his moments. Wally could recall several times he had been invited to Wayne Manor for sleepovers. On those days, Bruce was a little less cranky and a little more playful. That changed, though, when Jason… (_Bad memories! Notgoingthere!_) Tim made things a bit better, though, and Jason's resurrection, while not having an ideal outcome, seemed to do the same.

Bruce stood. "Tim and I must get back get back to Gotham," he said, "There is a case involving Penguin we need to be focusing on. Also, his break from school to repair damage from the invasion will be over in a week for him. He still has homework to do."

"Of course. School's starting next month in Central. There was a lot of damage here," the speedster said as he stood, "BART! TIM!"

The two boys came down the hall. Bruce was already at the door. Tim sighed. "Bye Bart," he said sadly.

Bart looked upset as he ran to hug his dad. "Can't Tim stay longer? Please?" he begged. Tim looked at Bruce pleadingly.

The adults shared a look, which, frankly, shocked Wally a little. (_Is this what being parent is like?_)

The billionaire cleared his throat and stated, "Perhaps a playdate could be set up at a later date. Maybe a sleepover." There was no room for argument in his tone.

"Um, yeah," the older speedster said, "Yeah, it can." The boys smiled at this.

The speedsters said their goodbyes, and the bats left.

**TBA…**

What do you think? Good? Bad?

The next chapter might not be out as soon as I'd like. I'm not even sure what's going to be in it yet. Please bear with me.

Please review! Suggestions are always welcome.


	5. Doubts

So. This is set about two months after the last chapter. Right after the episode _The Return._

This actually wasn't as hard to write as I thought it would be.

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything related to DC comics. A girl can dream, though.**

Wally sat at a table in the cafeteria of the Watchtower. As usual, he was eating, but today was slightly different. It wasn't that he was eating to have enough energy. While he was doing that, he was also nursing his wounded pride.

"Hey kid. How're you doing?" came a deep voice. The red head looked up from his tray to see a man with chocolate colored skin sit beside him with a tray with a considerably less amount of food on it.

"Oh nothing. Just wondering how I could be so useless," Wally said. "What about you, John? Heard you almost lost it."

John Stewart sighed. "You aren't useless. Amazo is nearly impossible to beat. Cheer up. I haven't seen you this down since Shaye..." John drifted off, unable to say the name of the one being in the entire _universe_ he cared about over everything else.

Wally's already sour mood took a downward turn. "Shayera, GL. Her name's Shayera. You can talk about her sometimes, ya know," he said bitterly. He then stood up and left for transport. Before he got there, though, a hand grabbed ahold of his arm. The speedster sighed.

"What do you want, Bats?" he asked not even having to turn around to know who stopped him.

"Come with me," the Dark Night ordered.

-LINE BREAK-

Batman sat at one of the chairs at the table in an unoccupied conference room and motioned for Flash to do the same. After a few minutes of staring at each other, the elder sighed, relaxed in his seat, and folded his hands on the table.

"Now, how are you really?" he asked in his Bruce Wayne voice.

Wally looked at him with sadly. "I don't know if I can do this, B. I, I was so worried today when I heard Amazo was coming back to Earth. I'm not stupid. I know he's powerful, almost unstoppable, and, I don't know," the speedster sighed while running a hand through his hair. "I froze up. I kept picturing how Bart could be hurt if that stupid android decided to attack the planet."

Bruce looked at the young man in front of him. "You're rethinking you're decision to train him," he stated.

"Yeah. No. I, I just _don't know anymore. _How do you handle knowing Robin or Nightwing or Red Hood, especially Red Hood, could get _killed_ whenever? And you get the job done; you don't get beaten just because you're so worried. You always win," the speedster said defeated.

"For one, I don't _always _win. Red Hood is a prime example of that," Batman said. He looked at the man he watched grow from a sidekick to a hero in the eye. "I know the risks. Each time Robin goes on patrol with me or Nightwing talks about a case in Bludhaven I panic. I stay up for countless hours thinking about the son I can't protect. I even worry about Oracle. I'm always thinking about if someone attacked her, she wouldn't be able to defend herself like she used to be."

"So how do you let them leave your sight? How do you let them fight?" the red head asked.

"Because I can't keep them safe at all times," Bruce said. "I can't keep them in glass houses. Someone's going to throw stones at them. I might not be there to help them when that happens. I'll worry when that time comes, just like any other parent. Surely you've already noticed Green Arrow worrying about Arsenal and Speedy."

Wally winced as a memory struck him. It was three days before Bart came into his life. All adults were sent to another dimension be Mordred while all children stayed on Earth. GA want berserk. He kept saying that he had to get home. He had two sons that needed him. At the time, Wally didn't really get it. He had only found Connor existed not too long before, and Arsenal was on that team with Red Hood and never even visited. The oldest archer had even been the one to kick him out in the first place! It wasn't until after Bart came along that he understood. No matter the circumstances, your kids meant the world to you.

But still, you couldn't save them from everything. Eventually, they're going to want to be on their own. They're going to want to fight on their own. Wally could understand that. Wasn't that the reason for the Teen Titans? To get away from overprotective mentors for a while?

The speedster smiled. He ran out of the room saying a quick, "Thanks, B." He left too early to see the Dark Night giving a small, barely noticeable, smile.

-LINE BREAK-

Shayera's POV

Shayera sighed and looked at the book she was reading. It was a stupid fairytale about dragons and witches and heroes who saved the day. She usually wouldn't be caught dead anywhere _near _this sort of literature.

But she needed it right now.

Not a day went by when she didn't think about the family she had made orbiting Earth. The ones she betrayed. Images would flash trough her mind.

Her and J'onn talking while walking down a hallway.

Her and Batman sitting and just enjoying the other's company.

Her and the one she had come to see as a little brother as he showed her his face for the first time. Him telling her his real name. Wally West.

The nights she spent with the man she loved most. John's arms wrapped around her in a loving embrace.

The result of one of those nights.

The woman shook her head. She wouldn't let herself get lost in those memories. Not anymore. Those days were over. She was never going back. She had to stop or she would start missing those times.

She had just stopped tearing up every time familiar brown eyes looked at her.

A cry came from the small bed beside hers. She walked over and reached passed the bars on all four sides of it to pick up the four day old child inside of it. As brown eyes (_So much like his father's._) opened and looked towards his mother as she smile.

"It's okay, Rex," she said softly. "We're going to be okay."

**TBA…**

Ha! Bet you didn't see _that _coming, did you? Yep; Rex is now in the picture. I just love the pairing JohnXShayera so much!

Good? Bad? Please review! Suggestions are always welcome and _will_ be considered, if not used right away.


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